Eyesight to the Blind
by FloodFeSTeR
Summary: Erin Grayson is not a weak woman, but she isn't strong either. When she wakes up to the end of the world she questions everything, especially her will to survive. Daryl/OC pairing, dark themes.
1. Chapter 1

**2:00 p.m. – 1/2/14**

_Soooo my avid readers know about my strange obsession with dark and twisted things, a prime example is my Walking Dead story The Divide, another is my Harry Potter story Polly Pindragon Amazes the senses, that one's especially fucked up because of the age thing going on there. Anyway, this is my version of TehKinkehWalrus' story This Is As Quiet As It Gets. Same OC, mostly same content with a few dark twists and well…those that read my stories know how I roll. The chapters for a while will be roughly similar, but after that patch I will be going my own way with the story. You should check out the original version of this story._

_This story is T rated, but when a chapter is M rated I will warn you at the top. This preface is slightly M rated for implied content._

* * *

_**Preface**_

"_We're just gonna count down from ten…"_

The cries echoed off of the hollow walls, bouncing back to their ears as moans of pain mingled with pleasure. Eyes flickered around the room, one bright green, the other a light blue, as the flames danced across dilated pupils.

"_10…"_

The moans echoed back, confusing to the ears, and her heart fluttered loudly in her chest as she held the rifle close to her chest. The loud music clicked on, flooding the large room with the thump of electrical guitar, drums and a screaming voice that bellowed about Satan and sex.

"_9…"_

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, trying to drown out the sounds with humming but nothing could over power the music and the moans. The flames heated her body, the occasional flame stretching across her outstretched leg as she sat propped against the wall at the fires side. Her small body shook, her finger dancing across the trigger, wandering what the answer was.

"_8…"_

She screamed as the flames caught her for too long, jerking her leg back as her eyes snapped open and she aimed ahead of her, across the fire. It lit the silhouette, the face and shape familiar but not comforting or reassuring at all. The eyes were haggard, tired, and the color was the same hue as hers, the pupil the same level of dilation.

"7…"

The music clicked off and the screams were real, somewhere in this large building, in pain and pleasure. The noise hurt her ears, and she tried to cover them, but when she tried he stepped through the fire and took a hold of her hands, grabbing onto them and jerking her up to her feet.

"_6…"_

She trembled as he let go of her left wrist and reached up, roughly grabbing a hold of her jaw and clamping it between his fingers, pulling her face closer so she could see directly into his eyes. Mixed emotions coursed through her, frightening and confusing, she tried to pay them no mind, but they kept coming back in full force under his touch, his gaze.

"_5…"_

"Please…" she whimpered, the words sounding mushed, her toes dangling off of the ground a few inches. He growled and his fingers tightened their grip on both her wrist and jaw, causing new pain to thump through her, a new trill to tickle her spine, and she moaned a confused moan. She didn't know whether it was out of pleasure or pain.

"_4…"_

His teeth were grit close to her nose, the smell of his fowl breath washing over her, the warmth making it all the more disgusting. "What did I tell ya bout beggin? Ya don't fuckin beg!" he threw her away from him. She screamed and flew backwards, her gun clattering to the ground, and her back connected with t the wall, body crumpling to the ground as he stood above her.

"_3…"_

She coughed and sputtered, her whole body shaking as she pushed herself up onto her knees. Hands braced against the slimy concrete, she coughed and hacked, blood dotting the ground and her hands. He reached down and took a hold of her ponytail, dragging her up to her feet. She just whimpered and dangled there in his hands, blood dribbling down her chin that she tried to swipe up with her tongue.

"_2…"_

He leaned close to her, his dilated eyes flickering across her face. "Ya don't _ever _beg ya hear me? No matter what. Too strong for that, alright?"

She nodded weakly and he abruptly let her hair go, watching her slump to the floor in a tired heap. "I wanna sleep…"

"And I wanna fuck," he lit a cigarette and placed it between his lips. "Now come on."

"_1…"_


	2. Chapter 2

**2:00 a.m. – 1/3/14**

_Talk about the time huh? The only difference is the last chapter I posted was at p.m. instead of a.m._

_Between then and now I have had more feedback than I thought I would. Two favorites and two follows, both on the story and my profile, but the real feedback is how many people have read it. They may not have said anything but it's just so many people^-^ Anyway R&R, you guys know the drill. And guests? You guys can review too, you know?_

* * *

_Just count to ten…_

My eyes opened slowly, seeing water running past my vision, and I screamed, scrambling backwards until I fell over the other side of the bed. My back connected flatly against the floor and I cringed in pain, squeezing my eyes shut tightly. When I opened them again there was no water, just the edge of my bed and the white ceiling above me. I placed a hand over my chest, feeling my heart thumping erratically, and took in a few deep breaths, trying to calm it. I pushed myself up and off of the floor, swaying my way around the end of my bed to my bathroom, stretching my arms over my head. I peeled my sweat drenched clothes away from my body slowly, zoning out as I stared down at the floor. I shook my head and climbed into the shower, immediately being assaulted by hot water.

It took me roughly twenty minutes to feel as though I was clean enough to greet the world, and I climbed out of the shower with yawn, grabbing the towel from the counter and toweling off my body. I started on my hair, bending to the right at the waist slightly, staring at my reflection. I think it was time to clean my hip piercings, I would have to get down to the shop for that though. I tossed my towel back up onto the counter and started to braid my dark hair over my left shoulder, whistling a tune as I walked into my bedroom. The clock on my phone said it was around noon, so I woke up an hour before I actually had to get ready. Maybe I would go grocery shopping or something. Rick and Shane were on duty so no fun there. I covered myself in matching bra and underwear, then a tight half shirt and a pair of booty shorts. Some uniform huh? Guess it should be expected from a bar though, need to exploit the patrons that are into women out of money.

I flinched as I slipped on my shoes, the sound of Sweet Child of Mine screaming from my phone. I lay back on my bed and stretched to get the phone from the nightstand and shot back up into a seated position, sliding the green arrow over when I saw Shane's picture.

"Hey Beast Man," I smiled a little as I pushed myself up from the bed.

"Hey Erin…uh, can we meet up? Like for lunch or something?"

I hesitated halfway down the hallway, hearing the sad tone of his voice. "Uh yeah, yeah that's fine. Where do you wanna meet up at?"

"How about Waffle House?"

The smile returned to my face. I had been seriously craving pickles the past day or two and they had the best pickles. "Yeah, sounds good. Give me twenty minutes."

"Alright," and he hung up.

I stared at the phone for a minute but then shook my head and tucked it into my back pocket. I stopped in front of the mirror I had in the hallway to my front door. I twirled around a little bit, shaking my rump a little with a smile on my face. I may not like the uniform, but I didn't have to ignore the fact that it made me look downright sexy. I wiggled my rump again and grabbed my keys, walking out of my apartment. I slid into the driver's seat of my Mustang and started the engine, pulling out of the driveway onto the road and began to drive. I ran a hand down my face, yawning again. I was so tired, I hadn't slept at al last night. Those damn dreams…they were keeping me awake nearly every night. Water, that was all I ever saw in those dreams…

I shook my head and placed both hands on the wheel, my fingers curling tightly. I wouldn't think about it again. I would focus on the task at hand, which was getting to Waffle House and filling up on delicious food that was very bad for you. I smiled as I pulled into the parking lot. I stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut, seeing two men on the other side of the parking lot obviously staring me down. I glared at them for a moment, but they were too far away to see me, and same for them, but I could feel their eyes on me. I humphed and stomped over to the door of the Waffle House. I jerked it open and stepped into the diner, looking around for Shane. I saw him in a corner booth, hunched over the bar with a strange look on his face. I smiled as I slid into the booth, seeing all of the food I wanted already laid out for me. I began scarfing it all down, mostly the plate nearly overflowing with pickles. He knows me so well. Halfway through my gross attempt at filling my empty gut Shane caught my attention by sliding something shiny into my peripheral.

I paused in eating when I noticed what it was. Rick's badge. I swallowed and looked up at Shane, slowly setting the fork in my hand down. "Shane?"

He stared at me for a long time, longer than I felt comfortable with and he sighed. "We got a call while we were on route, we set up a road block, guns and all, waiting for this car to come through, and when he did they crashed. When we approached the vehicle he got shot, but it was in the chest so it got his vest. While I was checking him out a second man came from the car and shot him in his side. He's in an induced coma right now, to help him heal, and no one knows when he'll wake up."

I stared down at the plate of food in front of me, my stomach curling and tightening, and I felt the food I had just eatin climbing back up my throat. I reached up and wrapped my fingers around my throat, my vision blurring slightly with tears. I couldn't believe what I had just heard, and today had started out just so well ya know?

I took a deep breath. "So…what you're telling me is we don't even know if he _is_ going to wake up?"

Shane rubbed the back of his neck and sighed again. "Exactly…Erin I don't want you to see him this way."

I stared down at my hands as they began to shake. "And you know I'm goin to go see him."

"Erin pl-"

I slapped his hand away as he reached out for me, and pushed myself out of the booth. I clenched my right hand into a fist at my side and began to try and wipe away the tears with my left. "You weren't going to tell me were you? You weren't going to tell me _shit _until someone else mentioned it were you?"

He stared at me for a moment. "Erin, yo-"

"God dammit!" I screamed, feeling eyes on me. I whipped around and all but hissed at the patrons and waitresses. "What the fuck are you looking at?"

They all adverted their eyes, except for one waitress who looked around hesitantly before she stepped closer to the counter. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

I growled at her and grabbed my keys off of the table, hurrying out of the building and to my car. I fumbled with my keys for a moment before I finally got the door open. I all but slung myself into the driver's seat. I slammed the door shut and sat there for a moment, hiccupping out tears, and then I threw myself at the steering wheel, sobbing into the chipped leather and wrapping my arms around my head. Rick was in a fucking coma, I know he had been in one since yesterday, and no one had told me until today. I sobbed again, wiping at my eyes a little.

"Erin…" Shane knocked on the window. "Erin come on, open the door."

"No!" I screamed like a child.

He knocked a few more times before he finally sighed and I guess walked away. I peeked out over the edge of my arm and watched his patrol car pull away. I sniffed and wiped at my nose, starting the car and I pulled out as well, starting towards the hospital. All I could feel was hurt. I couldn't imagine Lori's reaction, I mean I ever really liked her, but I knew she loved Rick and I knew he loved her, and I couldn't wish this pain on anyone. And Carl…he's so young, he couldn't live without his father. A father is one of the most important people in a little boys life. I had to go see Rick, I just had to. I wasn't going to try to steer clear of doing that, I was going to go and I was going to see this for my own eyes.

I tried wiping my eyes clean again, but it did nothing, and I grumbled. After I parked in front fo the hospital I pulled down my vanity mirror and worked on getting my makeup back to normal. I checked myself over and over again, applying cover up to take some of the redness out of my face. I took a few deep breaths then got out of the car. I hesitantly approached the receptionists desk in the lobby, twisting my fingers together as I waited for the male nurse to notice me.

When he didn't I cleared my throat. "Uh, excuse me," I muttered quietly. My voice was scratch and I sounded like a shy school girl or something.

"Yes," he asked, giving me his full attention.

I ran a hand up my arm. "I'm here to see Rick Grimes, I think he's in intensive care."

He turned his attention to the computer, typing on it for a few minutes before he scratched at his neck. "And what is your relation to the patient?"

"I'm his sister."

"I don't see that information in here."

I scowled. "Well his wife doesn't exactly like me so I'm sure she tried to keep me a secret."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I've been there before. Room 15 down this hall, it says it on the door."

I smiled a little. "Thank you."

He nodded and I walked to the right of the desk, speed walking until I reached the room. I took in a few deep breaths, wiping away the sweat on my brow before I took in the final breath and opened the door to the room. I stepped into the cold room, shutting the door behind me quietly as I walked around the small wall, tears jumping to my eyes as I saw Rick's body lying. There. I held my hands over my mouth and leaned against the wall, not wanting to get closer for fear of what would become clear to my eyes. I swallowed deeply and walked over to the chair at his bedside and reached up shakily, grabbing his pale hand. I traced the veins in there that I could see for a moment and then smiled at his slack face.

"Hey Rick," my voice was scratchy again, and a few tears slipped down my cheek. "I know you can't hear me, or maybe you can, but either way I'm going to talk to you," I laid my head beside his, closing my eyes. "Remember when I was in high school, and that boy Jason Richardson asked me out but you and Shane didn't like him so you told me I couldn't go out with him. But I went anyway and he took me to the movies and you and Shane followed us. I remember looking over my shoulder and seeing you to sitting there, glaring at the back of his head. And then he put his arm over me and boy did you guys freak out," I paused to chuckle and reached up to place my hand over his arm. Their reaction had been like a bad movie. "And that time I got detention for spraying Miss Paula with silly string, you and Shane had to come get me because I got suspended," I smiled to smile gently and then frowned. "Rick you have to wake up, you just have to. You can't leave me here with these nightmares and no one to talk to them about. You're my best friend Rick, I mean yeah there's Shane here, but he's not you. Please don't leave me Rick…" I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut.

I don't know how long I was there, crying over Rick's sleeping body, but eventually Lori came in. I jumped and looked over at my shoulder, seeing her standing there with a vase and a handful of flowers. I let out a sob and jumped to my feet, knocking the chair over, and we met in the middle of the room, wrapping our arms around each other as we sobbed.

"Lori, oh God, Lori," I sobbed, tightening my arms around her. "I just…"

"It's ok sweetheart," she mumbled into my hair, her voice cracking with tears. "He's tough, he's going to make it through this, and you know it."

I smiled a little. "I know Lori…I know."


	3. Chapter 3

_I think I have completely mind fucked this story o.o I was just reading the original and it seems so calm and pleasant, the ideas I have are very very far from that. Oh, and I do sort of stress that the readers of this story go to my profile and read Erin's description because she has some tattoos I will not just throw out there, but I will casually slip them in there as the story goes on, so you guys need to read up on her.  
_

_Sorry it's so shooort._

_This chapter is slightly rated M, mostly for language and a few other things._

* * *

"_Come on Austin! Play with me!"_

_His eyes darted down to her, half glazed, and he placed the palm of his hand flat against her forehead. She giggled for a moment, but he roughly pushed her back and she fell with a squeal onto her bum, bouncing against the tiled floor while he knocked back a small rectangular pill._

"_Go away," he mumbled around the pill, reaching for the beer on the opposite side of the chipped coffee table._

_She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "No."_

"_Yes," he growled, jumping to his feet. "Get the fuck out of here!"_

_She squealed again and scrambled onto her hands and knees, crawling out into the hallway. He slammed the door shut as her toe barely cleared the doorway, taking a bit of skin with it. She paused and looked over her shoulder at the door, tears springing to her eyes and she crawled all the way into her bathroom decorated with rainbow colors and butterflies. She curled up on the tiled floor with her back against the sink, knees against her chest. She whimpered a little when she heard loud music belch from Austin's room and tucked her face into her knees. She wanted Mommy…_

**0000**

My eyelids fluttered open to the ceiling, sleep crusted into the edges of them, and I scrubbed them away with the heel of my left hand. I rolled my head over and squinted at the sun's rays pouring into my room, watching through my lids the dust motes dancing in the rays, curling and spinning around each other. I didn't want to get up, I didn't want to do anything but sleep and drink. Speaking of that…I rolled back over and stretched up and over for the bottle of Jack and lay on my back as I took methodical sips, feeling the burning begin to numb the insides of my throat and stomach. I pursed my lips and managed to get the bottle away without spilling any this time, and stretched to place it back on my nightstand. It's been what, three days? This was all I had done, I hadn't even showered, and I know I sure as hell needed to.

I threw my arm over my face and let out the breath I had been holding in. I needed to get up. I sighed and pulled myself up into a seated position, looking around the room. I reached back over to my nightstand and grabbed my phone. I had quite a few texts and missed calls. Most were from Shane, a few were from Lori and one was from my ex. Why the hell would he be calling me? He and Rick had been kinda close, and Shane didn't like him so maybe he was trying to get a hold of me to figure out what happened to Rick. He was a real douche, I don't know anyone that actually likes him in my social circle. The only reason Rick tolerated him the way he did was because Rick was such a kind person.

I sighed after a moment and pushed myself to my feet, walking to my kitchen. I looked for something to fill my stomach up. I wasn't really tasting anything, the Jack had numbed me up from the inside out, I just needed to feed myself. My ribs were slightly sticking out against my skin. I opened a few of my cabinets and just stared at the food, trying to find something that looked at least _slightly_ appetizing. I pursed my lips and reached up onto my tip toes for the chili packet at the top of the shelf. I let my feet smack flat against the floor and stared at the chili packet intensely. I _did_ want some chili something fierce.

**0000**

I sighed, leaning my head back and ran my fingers over my full stomach. That should hold me over for awhile. I looked around the room, taking in the silence, and I pursed my lips for probably the millionth time today. My apartment had never been so damn quiet before, I didn't know what to do with it. I rubbed my wrist and then pushed myself off of the couch, wandering around the apartment for a moment, my footsteps making no noise across the floor as I ran my finger tips over the wall. I needed to clean in here. I nodded to myself and started straightening up, and then I started wiping things down with a wet rag, grimacing at the layer of black on the rag as I tossed it into the sink. I wiped my hands together and decided now would be a good time for a shower.

I hummed my way into my bathroom, stripping off those nasty clothes of mine as I went. I shook my hair out of the bun it had been in for the past few days and then ran my fingers through the dark strands. I caught myself in the mirror, twisting my body slightly to watch the Phoenix on my side rippled around my ribs that poked out when I did so.

"_You sang me Spanish lullabies…_" I hummed, turning on the hot water, mixing up the lyrics to a song I had forgotten before now. "_Your fingertips across my skin, the palm trees swaying in the wind…_" I stepped into the warm spray and goose bumps skittered across my skin and a trill ran up my spine. "Oh yeah that feels good…" I purred, grabbing the bottle of shampoo.

I think I could go out into the world now, but I have to do it with this burst of energy I had just gotten. I had actually filled my stomach, cleaned and now I was taking a shower. I think I can cut a part some of this to let everyone know that I'm ok and check in on Rick. Well…maybe not Rick. Seeing him was what got me in this state. I love Rick, but I can't see him like that, I can't see him all hooked up to tubes and a respirator. It would just drag me down again. He's my best friend, he has been since I was just a kid and he was a teenager following my brother around. I loved Rick, not in any other way but as a friend of course, so yeah seeing him in such a state of disarray was depressing.

I turned off the water and stood there for a moment longer, reaching up and wiping the water from my forehead and lips. I stepped out of the shower and stretched for the towel on my counter. I slipped a little but caught myself, my heart thumping wildly in panic. I took in a deep breath and wrapped myself up in the towel, and ran my fingers through my hair. I paused in the doorway as my vision blurred. I blinked it away and shook my head, rubbing the side of my head and then I opened my eyes again and stumbled forward as the room spun for a moment. I held onto the edge of my bed and whimpered, looking around.

My stomach was twisting and curling, making me feel like I was gonna puke. I swallowed thickly and reached over to the nightstand for my phone. My fingers came up a little short and my knees wobbled and buckled inward, bringing me to the floor. I lurched and grabbed at the phone, getting it into my hands. I grinned then my expression warped into horror when I slumped forward, towards the nightstand.

_No, no, no, no, no, no,_ I chanted in my head as I eyed the corner coming closer.

I almost screamed as my forehead connected with it, and slumped into the space between my bed and the nightstand. My vision was one big blur, the pain thumping from the inside out and then back again. I whimpered and closed my eyes, not having the strength to fight it.

**0000**

**Shane**

He stared at Rick's unconscious body, leant forward on his knees, rubbing his hands together. He didn't know what to do, he needed Rick up right now so he could tell him what to do. Rick would defiantly know what to do in this situation, he would already have who he could organized and ready for shipment. Shane could only get Lori and Carl ready to move, and they were still in a panic. Shane was never good at calming people down, that was another thing Rick was good at. Keeping the situation calm.

Shane ran his hands up and down his face and lurched forward, reaching for the plug for a minute, then paused just short of it, the fingers on his hand twitching. He gasped at him and stood straight, gripping the sides of his head. What the hell had he been thinking? How could he think of pulling away Rick's life support? He was losing his mind, that was all it was. He was losing his mother fucking mind. He turned on his heel and stomped out of the room, swerving around a nurse moving out a few old folks for their shipment to Atlanta, and reached into his pocket for his phone. He dialed Lori's number.

"_Shane? Shane they're outside the house,_" her voice was full of panic.

"_You have everything packed right?_" he tried to stay as calm as possible when in reality he was tugging at his hair at the roots.

"_Y-Yes, and Carl's in the car._"

Shane sighed in slight relief. "_You run as fast as you can and get into that car and you get your ass here alright? We'll move everything into the Explorer and we're gone._"

"_What about Rick, Shane?_"

Shane watched a few of the doctors jog past him and swallowed. "_They're getting everyone out of here as fast as possible, they still have this floor and three more to go. Don't worry, they'll get him into the safe zone. You worry about us right now_."

He could almost see her nod. "_Alright…alright I'll see you in a minute._"

Shane waited a moment through the dial tone before he dialed Erin's number, though he knew it was really a useless endeavour. She wouldn't answer the phone, but he knew she would listen to the voicemail. She hated having a bunch of voicemails and texts backing up her phone. He left the voicemail and shoved his phone into his back pocket, stomping back into Rick's room. He had to get him out of here.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Erin?!"_

_I flinched at the sound of his voice and inhaled through my nose, pulling the headphones out of my ears. I set my pencil down beside the sketchpad and jumped to my feet, jogging down the hallway to the banister and held the edge as I leaned over. I saw Juliet's tongue slide back behind her teeth and grimaced, clearing my throat. Austin looked up over his shoulder at me and gave me a lopsided, disarming, grin._

"_Hey, we got some good shit," he held the rolled green up between his index finger and his middle finger. "Wanna partake?"_

_No. "Yeah sure, let me turn off my shit and I'll be right down."_

_He waved his hand at me and suctioned his lips back to hers, making wet noises between themselves so loud I gagged. I couldn't wait to move out of here, but I wasn't eighteen so I had to put my excitement away for later. I plugged my iPod into the wall and slipped my phone into my jacket pocket, shutting my bedroom door behind me. The rest of the house was already flooding with the smell of pot, the thick smoke making me cough a little, but I joined Juliet and Austin in the living room anyway. I watched Austin gently let the thick smoke roll past his teeth and lips, inhaling it back through his nose to start the cycle one last time, and then he reached out to me and I took the joint for myself. I pressed my fingers against each other and I switched the joint to my other hand, feeling the stickiness coming off of it, and I nodded silently to myself. Some good shit._

_I clamped it between my lips and grabbed the lighter out of Austin's hand, cupping my hand over the flame as I inhaled. I choked slightly, not enough for even me to really notice, and passed the joint around to Juliet. After a moment of silent smoking I stood and walked into the kitchen; I opened the fridge and bent over slightly, reaching for the bottle of scotch in the back of the fridge. I jumped and dropped the bottle when I felt fingers wrap around my hip bones, the glass sliding every which way and the liquid soaking into the socks I was wearing. I shook a little as his fingers dug in, clenching the thin layer of skin across my hip bones against the protruding things and causing a slight twinge of pain. His breath rolled across my left shoulder, smelling of whiskey and pot, maybe something else, but I was too focused on the hand trying to worm its way down the front of my jeans to worry about that._

"_I know what you do with them…."_

_I whimpered as he tried to undo the button to my jeans. "I don't kno-"_

"_Shut up," he quipped and I froze again. "I know what you do, fucking skank. Who's bigger? Goody-two shoes or the deputy?"_

_I whimpered again. "Austin I swear I haven't done anything with th-"_

"_Yo Austin?! You in here man?"_

_I almost sighed in relief at the sound of Shane's voice, but that would make Austin stall and I didn't want that. I shivered slightly as he pulled his hands from my jeans and I immediately crouched down to start picking up the pieces of glass around my feet._

"_Hey man, long time no see," I heard Austin greet in practiced hospitality._

"_Where's Erin?" Rick asked, and I smiled a little._

"_She's in the kitchen, clumsy ass dropped a glass bottle and she's picking it up. I don't think she's in a good mood, steer clear and come sit with Juliet and me," I heard the air huff out of the leather sofa as he sat down._

"_Well I'll just go say hey real quick, we won't be here long."_

_I was shaking when Rick came into the kitchen, crouching beside me so he could help pick up the pieces. We cleaned in silence for a moment, nothing but the voices in the other room to break any of the silence we had. After a moment I heard a muffled cry and grunting in the other room. I picked my head up and went to look over my shoulder but Rick stopped me, shaking his head._

"_You listen to me before you go in there, go straight to your room, and don't dawdle. Get everything you want and need, go as fast as you can, and you are coming to stay with Lori and I until Shane gets the rest of your stuff moved into his apartment, you got me?"_

_I stared at him for a long time and then dropped the glass in my hands, wrapping my arms around his neck as I cried. "Rick…thank you so much…"_

_He patted my back and unwound my arms from him. "Hurry, it reeks of pot and meth in here."_

_I nodded and jumped to my feet, pausing briefly in the living room to see Shane keeping a handcuffed Austin on the ground. Juliet was lying on her stomach on the couch, face buried in a pillow she was hugging. Her shoulder shook slightly, she was crying. I stared at Austin again before I darted up the stairs to my room. I packed as fast as I could, really fitting everything but my bed into two large duffle bags, and I hurried back downstairs with those. When I got downstairs Juliet was gone and Austin was handcuffed to one of the dining room chairs, glaring at the floor._

"_I've put up with it for ten years Austin…" Rick muttered, hands on his hips. "But after I found out what you did to Erin? This is the last time you or I will ever speak again, definitely the last time you will ever lay eyes on her again. And your pretty girlfriend? Jail. I'm done with it all Austin."_

"_I'll be back by tonight to take you down to the station, get you sorted out," Shane growled._

_I smiled a little and then dropped one of the bags on the floor, pretending I just reached the bottom of the steps, and I scrambled for the bag. Shane jogged over and grabbed both bags, tossing one over his shoulder and tucking the other one under his arm. He nodded at Rick and then nodded to me before he was out the door. I approached Rick's side hesitantly, playing with my fingers through the ends of my long sweat shirt, and I stared at my brother. He didn't look at me, he kept his scowl focused on the floor. My jaw set and I reared my arm back, punching him square in the jaw as hard as I could. I wanted to do more, but what I wanted to do was against the law and almost against God, so I left it with a good punch. His head snapped to the right and stayed there, his lips uttering no sound, and after a moment Rick steered me towards the door._

_Once we were in the car I finally spoke up. "How did you find out?"_

_Rick and Shane shared a glance, Shane just rubbing his forehead while Rick shifted uncomfortably. "One of the men…he cracked while in detox and confessed. He had a video tape."_

_I shivered and swallowed back the lump in my throat. "Oh," was all I uttered._

_I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my face into them. I didn't cry, it just made me feel safer than when I could see everything. I didn't want them to know, them of all people. But they had, and I couldn't do anything to change it. I was relieved in a way, relieved to be out of that hell hole, relieved to be with the two people I knew would always protect me. The only people that had ever protected me. The only people that would EVER protect me._

**0000**

One moment…I felt as though I was losing myself…I was drifting away from myself. And then….a flash, and everything started speeding towards me. Sounds, pictures. Laughing, crying, screaming, crashing, talking, muttering, humming, singing. Faces and places I don't remember seeing, places I don't remember going. And then it's like someone slammed the lid shut on it all and there is nothing but darkness and silence. That was the worst part, the silence. I could handle the darkness, I loved the darkness, but silence is something I never coped with. Silence means nothing, and nothing is pretty fucking scary.

I blinked my eyes open slowly, seeing the room spinning inwards then out before it settled and I could focus on the speckled ceiling. I stayed there for a moment, shaking my head as I lay on the floor, and then I started pushing myself up again, body stiff from misuse. I groaned as my joints popped and then groaned at the rumble coming from my stomach. I cringed as I bumped my head against the edge of my nightstand but continued to sit up anyway instead of lying back down like I wanted to. I looked around the room as I rubbed my head and stood on shaky legs. How long had I been out? I took in a deep breath, closing my eyes to gain my bearings, and then I nodded to myself. First things first, clothes. Then my phone, and then…why are all of the lights out?

I flicked the switches around in the bathroom, tried turning on the water. Nothing. My brow furrowed but I shrugged it off, and grabbed my brush from the counter. People were always hitting the power poles around here, the curse of living almost in the ghetto. I brushed my hair out, shaking my fingers through it to catch a few tender knots, and then I got dressed in a plain purple tank top and some jean shorts. I opened the door onto my balcony and lit a cigarette, leaning against the railing. The longer I stared the quicker I noticed the silence. There was no noise, save for the ruffle of the paper that was strewn across the courtyard with the wind and the tapping of the flag against the flag pole. I pushed off of the railing a little, looking around warily.

I don't think I have just been out for one night.

I looked up when I heard the door above me slide open, my heart hammering in my chest, and I dropped my cigarette when a little girls head poked over the edge of the balcony. "You shouldn't do that."

"Do what?"

She looked at me like I was stupid. "You're not supposed to smoke outside."

"My apartment will stink."

She rolled her eyes. "It's better than them getting to you."

"Better than who getting me?"

"You really don't know?" I shook my head. Her wide eyes widened further and she held up a finger. "You need to talk to my mom."

"Well send her out."

"We'll come down to your apartment."

Oh yeah, that would be better. I nodded. "Alright, come on over, the door will be open. You know which ones mine?"

She nodded. "23G."

I sighed when she disappeared and faintly heard her call for her mother. I took in a deep breath and walked back into my apartment. I opened the door like I said I would and walked back into the kitchen, sitting down at my small table for two. I leaned onto my elbows, cradling my head in my hands. What was going on? What happened while I was asleep? I guess I was going to find out in a minute. At least I knew these two, I had said hello to them in the hallway every once in awhile, I knew the woman's name was Jessica, and the little girl's name was…what was her name again? It started with a D…

"Slow down Dixie."

"That's it!" I announced, standing up.

I looked over when I noticed the eyes on me and smiled a little, waving. Jessica smiled a little and waved herself, looking down at Dixie. "Honey you go sit on the couch alright, and make sure that doors locked."

She nodded and bounded off into the other room while Jessica sighed and rubbed her forehead, turning back to me. I smiled and gestured to the chair across from where I had been sitting. "Coffee?"

She sat in the chair, looking at me almost incredulously. "But honey…there's no power."

I shook my head. "No problem, I like to tinker. My coffee pot is solar powered."

She smiled widely while I moved the coffee pot over and set it in front of the glass door, me smiling when the green light came on after a moment. I sat back in my seat while we waited for the coffee to finish, the smell of the beans filling my tiny apartment and helping me feel normal, calm. Jessica smiled a little and then took a deep breath, strumming her fingers across the table top.

"How did you not know about being outside?"

I looked up, confused by her question. "Why can't I go outside? What happened out there?"

She looked at me, dumbfounded, and leaned in a little. "You seriously don't know what happened?"

I shook my head. "I…I think I was asleep when everything happened.

"Asleep for a week? Sounds like a coma."

My eyes widened. "A week?" my voice came out strangled.

Jessica nodded slowly. "Oh dear…um…yeah. A-About a week ago, they bombed Atlanta, the dead took over. Dixie and I have been holed up in our apartment since."

The what?!


	5. Chapter 5

_**5:24 p.m. – 1/25/14: Advertisement**_

_This Is As Quiet As It Gets by TehKinkehWalrus, it's variant Eyesight to the Blind is in my list, it's a darker version of the story._

_White roses and Lucky you by Amandapanda7, if your into Carl/OC stories, I'm not usually but they're fun to read._

_The Divide by me is a Daryl/OC and slightly Merle fic. Plenty of darkness in that story._

_And last but not least, any Transformers fans? I got the itch to do something for them and I have done a pretty good job with it so far. Seems a bit choppy but I'm working out the kinks._

* * *

"Come on Dixie run!"

"I am!"

I grunted and turned slightly, using my momentum and shoulder to get the door open. I stumbled as it flung open, bouncing back against the wall and making even more noise. I twisted around and scooped up Dixie into my arms and started for the stairs. She held onto my shoulders as tightly as she could, looking over my shoulder. She gasped every minute or two and I took it as a sign to try and run faster.

It's been ten days since I met Jessica and Dixie. Since then things have not gone as planned. We had planned on gathering enough supplies from the other apartments and packing them up to leave the city. The second day we were planning to search the top floors and when we got up there we split up, of course Dixie stayed as close to her mother or I as possible. I had my own rooms, she was in charge of the closets and Jessica had another section of rooms. When Dixie and I were done we met up by the staircase and waited for Jessica. But she never came out. We called for her over and over again, but I wouldn't let Dixie go to try and find her mother and I wasn't risking my neck to find out what I already knew so we just left. Dixie didn't talk for a few days, and she hasn't left my side since. I don't really like that, but I'm not going to push her away when she's all fucked up, so I've been letting her run around and scavenge with me.

We met up with a group of men playing thugs for old people a few days after we lost Jessica. They were kind and let us in with open arms, but since then I have watched them turn down a lot of people so I am grateful for the help. We hadn't just sat around either, Dixie and I do runs for the group when the men are busy with other things. We mostly go early in the morning, when the air is fresh and the Walkers can't smell us too good.

That didn't work this morning.

But, we're home now and we're safe.

I turn and skid into the courtyard of the warehouse, coming to a stop when I saw the men standing with weapons. My eyes flickered up when I saw something shine and there was a black man waiting with a rifle. I looked back to the Vato staring at me.

"Guillermo, quienes son estas personas?"

He let out a slightly angered breath. "Atacado Phillipes primo. Standoff."

I sighed, catching the eyes of one of the men, one of the faces familiar but I held my heart still for a moment. I needed to get Dixie inside. He held a crossbow, and he looked ready to defend himself if needed, but his eyes were on me. "Are you all a bunch of fucking idiots? Guillermo let them in, we got Walkers coming in behind us."

Guillermo and Phillipe looked between each other then sighed. "You just," he took a few steps towards me. "Ya take all of the bad ass we have and turn it into bunny farts."

I rolled my eyes and let Dixie down onto the ground, nudging her towards the building. "Go inside honey," she took off, worming around the men into the building, and I looked back to Guillermo. "Well, we're making a big deal over this. Now everyone inside!"

The Vatos' jumped and started walking back inside, the strangers looking confused. Guillermo grunted and turned to them. "Better listen to what she says, she's actually the most dangerous of us."

I grumbled. "Damn right I am, now move before they get to us."

_**LINE**_

"What do you think?"

"What do _you _think?"

I stared over the head of Glenn, who was enthusiastically checking out a few of the drawings Dixie was showing him. I looked back up at Guillermo and then sighed, arms crossed over my chest. "I don't want to bring Dixie out on the road…"

"But we were leaving in a week anyway."

I nodded. "Yeah, there is that. I have people I need to find out there and I am sure where you guys were planning on going…they wouldn't be headed in that direction."

Rick, who had met me with a tearful, wide grin, still had puffy eyes but was ready to convince me to follow him and his ragtag group. "Erin, please come with us. The CDC will have answers, maybe a solution. And if not, I would rather have more familiar faces with the group. And Dixie could have playmates."

Dixie's attention went to me, her arms lowering, fingers still clenched around the paper in her hand. "Kids my age?"

I nodded. "Rick has a son named Carl…and apparently others," I looked over at Guillermo and saw a forlorn look in his eyes. "Will you be ok with one less fighter and two less scavengers?"

He smirked a little, his eyes not sparkling like usual. "Yeah, I guess I will have to."

I sighed and let my arms drop. "Well don't make me feel bad, Vatos."

Rick chuckled and stepped forward. "I don't remember you speaking their language before."

I rolled my eyes and then grinned. "There's a lot about me you don't know apparently."

He nudged me with his shoulder and then his eyes landed on Dixie. "You have to be ready to fight, you know that right?"

Dixie's face grew hard with child-like courage. "I can fight!"

A round of chuckles went through the room and I hooked my arm around her shoulder, tugging her against my side and patting her arm. "Well then," I smile at Rick, ready to see Shane, my whole body ready to start it's adrenaline fueled shaking. "I guess we're going with you gringos."

* * *

_Sorry it's so short, but after so long I just had to give you at least something._


End file.
